Heretofore, it has been common practice to generate a printing job execution instruction for instructing an image forming apparatus such as a printer to execute a printing job, using a printer driver or the like, so as to print an image representing an edited object such as a text, a table or a photograph edited on software running on a personal computer.
However, for example, when printing a rectangular image representing a table or the like, a user sometimes fails to adequately input printing conditions such as a size of a sheet to be output and a printing range, and thus a printing job execution instruction can be generated with the printing conditions set to a default state. If the printing job is executed based on such a printing job execution instruction, a plurality of sheets are likely to be output with an image formed thereon in a layout unintended by a user, e.g., an image is likely to be formed on sheets whose number is greater than that intended by the user, in such a manner as to protrude beyond an intended sheet. In this case, the user feels inconvenient, e.g., because the image cannot be visually recognized without adequately arranging the output sheets, and will perform operation for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction. This can result in a situation where the previously output sheets become wasted, and the user is required to take time and effort for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction.
In view of the above, for example, the following JP 2003-208279A describes determining, based on acquired printing data, whether or not printing target data will be printed out in such a manner as to protrude from a page intended to allow the printing target data to fall therewithin, to another page, on a page-by-page basis. The JP 2003-208279A also describes, when it is determined that the printing target data will be printed out to protrude beyond the intended page, prompting a user to select whether or not the printing should be continued, or automatically downscaling an image representing the data determined that it will be printed out to protrude beyond the intended page, and printing the downscaled image on the intended page to thereby prevent unnecessary printing and improve convenience.
For example, when printing a large-area rectangular image such as a table having a large number of columns and/or rows, a user sometimes intends to form the image to fall within a plurality of sheets two or more of which are aligned in each of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.
However, the technique described in the following JP 2003-208279A is configured to, based on a printing job execution instruction, determine whether or not an image will be formed to fall within each sheet, on a sheet-by-sheet basis, i.e., determine whether or not an image will be formed as intended by a user, on a per-sheet basis. Thus, in the technique described in the following JP 2003-208279A, suppose that a printing job execution instruction for forming an image to fall within a plurality of sheets intentionally arranged by a user is generated, as mentioned above. In this case, when the above determination is made based on the printing job execution instruction on a per-sheet basis, the determination for a part of the plurality of sheets is likely to be made such that a partial image assigned to each of these sheets will be formed to fall within the sheet, and the determination for the remaining sheets is likely to be made such that a partial image assigned to each of these sheets will not be formed to fall within the sheet.
Thus, on each of a part of the plurality of sheets, the partial image assigned thereto is formed as-is without being downscaled, according to the printing job execution instruction, and, on each of the remaining sheets, the partial image assigned thereto is formed after being downscaled. Therefore, though a user desired to obtain a set of the plurality of sheets having an image formed thereon in an intended layout, there is a possibility of failing to obtain such a desired set of the plurality of sheets. This is likely to lead to a situation where all of the plurality of output sheets become wasted. Moreover, the user is likely to be required to take time and effort for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction, for example, by re-inputting conditions for forming an image on a plurality of sheets.
On the other hand, during editing of an image, a user sometimes sets as printing conditions a printing range corresponding to a size of the image during the edition, so as to preview a result of printing of the image. Suppose that the image size is subsequently reduced so that a final image size after the editing becomes smaller than that during the editing. Despite this situation, there is a possibility that the user performs operation for generating a printing job execution instruction without changing the setting of the printing conditions.
If a printing job is executed based on such a printing job execution instruction, a sheet having an image formed thereon in a size smaller than that intended by the user and thus having a relatively large margin is likely to be output, i.e., a sheet having an image formed thereon in a layout unintended by the user is likely to be output. In this case, the user feels inconvenient due to difficulty in visually recognizing the image, and will perform operation for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction. As a result, there is a possibility that the user feels a burden of taking time and effort for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction.
As above, in the case where a printing job execution instruction is generated without redoing the setting of the printing conditions, even using the technique described in the Patent Document 1, the determination will be made such that an image will be formed to fall within a sheet, based on the printing job execution instruction. If the printing job is executed according to the result of the determination without any change, a sheet having an image formed thereon in a layout unintended by the user is likely to be output. This can result in a situation where the user feels a burden of taking time and effort for re-generating a new printing job execution instruction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing a risk that a plurality of sheets are output with an image formed thereon in a layout unintended by a user, when a printing job is executed based in an accepted printing job execution instruction.